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In May 1991 Opossum followed a while later by sister submarine Otus returned to H.M.S Dolphin from the Gulf in traditional Far East Camouflage colours (black and duck egg blue). Both vessels were flying the Jolly Roger, a symbol of a successful war patrol . It is probable that they had been involved in SAS and SBS reconnaissance operations possibly in preparation for the eventuality of an amphibious assault - the Iraqis feared an amphibious assault and accordingly deployed six divisions.

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Would be interest to know where the subs that deployed into the Indian Ocean, went via the Suez Canal, or the Cape of Good Hope?

However have found this..

"HMS Splendid from her base in Faslane on a 3 month undersea mission via the Panama Canal to San Diego where the submarine is charged with the vital task of firing the Royal Navy's first ever Tomahawk Missile."

If they went via the Panama Canal, I suppose they could have gone via the Suez Canal to?

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HMS Splendid The British government signed a Memorandum of Understanding to buy 67 Block III Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) from the United States for installation in Royal Navy submarines in October 1995. This provided sufficient TLAMs to arm two Swiftsure class and five Trafalgar class SSNs. HMS Splendid was the first British submarine to receive the Tomahawk missiles. Splendid was a Swiftsure Class, nuclear powered, attack submarine built by VSEL at Barrow. Construction began on 24 November 1977, with the submarine launching on 5 October 1979 and commissioned on 21 March 1981. The submarine had an armament of five torpedo tubes, carrying Mk 24 torpedoes and Sub Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The boat then converted to carry Tomahawks in 1998. The missiles first successfully fired from Splendid during trials off the coast of California in November of the same year. A few months later, Splendid used Tomahawks in a real war situation during the Kosovo crisis. Splendid, under the command of Commander Richard Baker, took part along with American submarines in NATO bombing operations against Yugoslavia in March 1999. Splendid's Tomahawk attacks were among the most controversial of the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. The missiles assisted in a strike against the building that housed the Serbian Television station and the Party Headquarters of President Milosevic in Belgrade. American officials targeted the property specifically to â€˜maximise the domestic and international propaganda value of seeing such a high profile building in the Belgrade skyline under fire'. The missiles directly targeted the building's sixth floor and roof in order to increase the chance of fire spreading. The attack resulted in the deaths of 16 civilians, with another 20 injured. It was strongly criticised by human rights groups such as Amnesty International, even though NATO's supreme commander (General Wesley Clark) and his British counterparts insisted that the building was a legitimate military target used to pass information to Serbian military units in Kosovo and to promote Serbian propaganda. HMS Splendid was the first British submarine to receive the Tomahawk missiles. Splendid was a Swiftsure Class, nuclear powered, attack submarine built by VSEL at Barrow. Construction began on 24 November 1977, with the submarine launching on 5 October 1979 and commissioned on 21 March 1981. The submarine had an armament of five torpedo tubes, carrying Mk 24 torpedoes and Sub Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The boat then converted to carry Tomahawks in 1998. The missiles first successfully fired from Splendid during trials off the coast of California in November of the same year. Splendid fired 20 Tomahawk missiles in total during the war, with 17 of those successfully hitting their targets. The use of Splendid in the bombing campaign was a significant departure from established pattern of patrols and surveillance. It indicated future situations in which the Royal Navy's submarine service might be engaged in its more global approach. Splendid then deployed to the Arabian Gulf and Arabian Sea to support coalition operations in the area, conducting TLAM attacks in support of Operation Telic in Iraq during 2003. HMS Splendid fired more Tomahawk missiles than any other SSN submarine, British or American, during her career. She decommissioned on 14th August 2003. HMS Splendid was a Royal Navy nuclear powered fleet submarine of the Swiftsure class. HMS Splendid was launched at Barrow on 5 October 1979, by Lady Ann Eberle, wife of Admiral Sir James Eberle, then Commander-in-Chief Fleet. The boat was built by Vickers Shipbuilding Groups and was under the command of Commander R C Lane-Nott.Since her launch in 1979, she has taken part in many conflicts involving British forces around the globe.Her first major conflict came in 1982 when Argentine forces invaded the British held Falkland Islands. Splendid was one of the first submarines to reach the islands, arriving mid April, after sailing from Faslane. Unlike HMS Conqueror, Splendid did not fire in anger, she did however provide valuable reconnaissance to the British Task Force on Argentine aircraft movements. Splendid's presence also ensured that the Argentine Navy would not dare leave its port.In the late 1990s, HMS Splendid became the first British ship to be armed with American-built Tomahawkcruise missiles. In 1997 the BBC were allowed on board HMS Splendid to record one of the most important missions of her career. Splendid fired Tomahawks in battle against Yugoslav targets in Belgrade during the Kosovo War. She again fired these weapons against Iraqi targets in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.In July 2003, HMS Splendid returned to her home at Faslane Naval Base on the River Clyde in Scotland. She was decommissioned in HMNB Devonport, Plymouth in 2004 due to defence cuts. Commander Burke was later awarded the OBE for his leadership of HMS Splendid in the Gulf. Involvement with the sinking of the KurskHMS Splendid was present, along with the US Navy submarines the USS Memphis and the USS Toledo[1] at the Russian war games during which the Russian submarine Kursk exploded and sank, resulting in the loss of that submarine and all 118 sailors and officers on board. Despite the conclusions of independent forensic inquiries and the eventual corroborating admission by the Russian Navy that the explosion was triggered by a faulty torpedo onboard the Kursk, various conspiracy theories posit that Kursk was actually sunk by one of the US or British submarines. This may partly stem from the Russian Navy's initial attempts to shunt away criticism of its failed efforts to rescue the surviving crew members from the ocean floor and of the generally poor condition of its own equipment, which was eventually found to be the cause of both the sinking and the failure of the Russian rescue attempts.[2] In the days immediately after the explosion, Russia suggested that the cause of the disaster was a collision with one of the US or British submarines present.[3] Though the accusation proved to be unfounded, conspiracy theorists have inevitably picked up on and elaborated it in various directions over time.

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I know that during the last Gulf War one of the 'S' boats (possibly HMS Sceptre) transitted via the Suez Canal, HMS Somerset providing close protection, but I can't remember if it was after she was 'empty' and going home or if she was 'full' and heading there in the first place. There is a photo of the 2 together somewhere.

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The submarines HMS Oppossum also served off Northern Ireland and I believe is the only submarine to qualify for the GSM 1962 bar Northern Ireland

The South Atlantic Medals are named with the ship / submarine name for RN personnel. Those RN personnel who served on STUFTs (Ships Taken Up From Trade - eg SS Canberra) had their medals named with a Naval Party Number NP.... some examples are given: